It was a particularly successful Christmas and New Year period for the ‘The Final Count’, the candid memoir of the colourful former senator Dan Kiely. Co-written with JM Agency principal Jeremy Murphy, the book also benefited from our comprehensive publishing programme for self-published authors, which includes exceptional editing and design services passionately provided by the JM Agency team.
Dan Kiely was a close confidant of former taoisigh Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern, and readers will be shocked and amused by his insights into the inner workings of power. From a scoop into the resignation of Minister for Justice Seán Doherty, to a very personal account of Ireland’s Machiavellian political culture, The Final Count is a hard-hitting memoir. In the words of Michael Healy Rae TD, ‘Charlie Haughey had many secrets, and Dan Kiely knew every one of them’.
Emigrating to the United States at the tender age of seventeen, Dan Kiely was working in both Goldman Sachs and Gaelic Park within a year. Along with GAA legend John ‘Kerry’ O’Donnell, Dan was instrumental in organising the Cardinal Cushing games, which saw Kerry football legends Tom Long, Mick O’Dwyer and Mick O’Connell take to the field in New York and Boston. He soon became the youngest ever holder of a nightclub license in New York state, by leasing the lively ‘Red Mill’ in the Bronx, where showbands managed by Dan Kiely entertained the Irish immigrant community.
Acts like Joe Dolan, ‘Big Tom’ McBride and rock n’ roll legend Roy Orbison would later perform in ballrooms managed by Dan in Dublin, Youghal, Tralee and Ballybunion. The Final Count’s rare glimpse into how the Irish senator managed the stars is not to be missed. As a senator, Dan Kiely would distinguish himself as a champion of Irish immigrants. The story of how he personally delivered 15,000 visa applications to a centre in Virginia will both delight and shock readers.
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